INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR2 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................3 1.1 Background......................................................................................................................3 1.2 Purpose.............................................................................................................................3 1.3 Methods of investigation..................................................................................................3 1.4 Scope of the report...........................................................................................................3 1.5 Outline of the report structure..........................................................................................4 2.0 Informal Learning Behaviours.............................................................................................4 2.1 Definition of informal learning........................................................................................4 2.2 Informal learning behaviours...........................................................................................5 2.3 Theories Explaining Informal learning............................................................................5 2.4 Individual Characteristics Enabling Informal learning....................................................7 2.5 Workplace Factors Enabling Informal Learning..............................................................8 2.6 Benefits of informal learning...........................................................................................9 2.7 Limitations.....................................................................................................................10 Conclusion................................................................................................................................11 Recommendation......................................................................................................................12 References................................................................................................................................13
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR3 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background Informal Learning is referred to the unstructured learnings that are unplanned and often self-directed by the learner. The informal learningsare different from traditionaland educative classroom environments that require the time and expenses of the learner and the organization. Informal learning is not structured like formal education learning programs. In many scenarios, the individuals initiate learning through self-studying articles, viewing videos, participating in forums. In informal learning, the goals and objectives are often set by learners by itself. 1.2 Purpose The purpose of the report aims to study the overall aspects of informal learning for analyzing the impact of such learning outcomes on individuals and organizations. Informal learning is cost-effective thus, its study will help the organizations using such a learning method on employees for better performance. Informal learning behaviors include theories, individual characteristics that further enable this type of learning (Galaniset al2016).The purpose of the report also aims to analyze workplace factors and benefits of informal learning to employees and organizations. After the discussions on various aspects of the informal learning, limitations and recommendations will also be given to obtaining an overall idea about Informal learning in organizations. 1.3 Methods of investigation This paper will undertake investigation of the topic by evaluating various literature sources for the same. Each topic have been 1.4 Scope of the report The report will discuss different aspects of informal learning that are definitions, theories, factors like workplace and individual characteristics. The report will also analyze the
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR4 limitations while recommendations will also be given for the negative impacts of informal learning. 1.5 Outline of the report structure The report will undertake literature evaluation to arrive at findings regarding information learning behaviours. First exploration of definition of information learning will be undertaken followed by theories exploration related to informal learning and individual characteristics and workplacebehaviour relatedto informationlearninghave been established. Then conclusion from all the theories have been drawn on the topic. 2.0 Informal Learning Behaviours 2.1 Definition of informal learning Informal learning refers to unstructured learning through which the individuals develop several skills. This type of learning does not comprise a formal structured curriculum that includes instructors, exams and assignments (Boileau,2017). It is a type of learning, that occurs unconsciously each day during work hours. The informal learning helps us to learn new things coping with dynamic work structure. It is often noticed that 90% of the thought process is developed through the organic, unstructured and learner-driven learning initiative. In recent times, many organizations are investing in the education of the employees. However, the companies address that investing in formal education is expensive and time- consuming. The formal training is limited to textual study or summary of the situation, thus educative class learning cannot cope with the changing dynamic needs of the organizations. Thus, informal learning may be defined as learning that takes place in the workplace relating to the performance of their employability. The employer does not formalize it in an organized curriculum or program and may not encourage the employee in this process. Thus, the learning that takes place above the school walls can be termed as informal learning.
Paraphrase This Document
Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR5 2.2 Informal learning behaviours In the works ofWielenga-Meijeret al (2010), itwas stated that job characteristics often impact the learning processes of the employee. Thus, the author aimed to research on the relationships among learning antecedents, learning processes and outcomes. It is crucial to understand the factors that affect learning processes and outcomes need to be understood in an appropriate manner.Therefore, after studying 85 articles the author concludes that positiverelationshipsprevailedamongstjobautonomy,demandsandmetacognitive- motivational learning processes. It was also established that learning outcomes had a positive relationship with learning processes. Many organizations work smartly and allow the employee to obtain knowledge through informal learning and training at the workplace. Thus, working in a workplace with little guidance helps the workforce to be responsible and independent that further raises the performance. In this regard, mentoring is the most powerful informal training methods. It was noticed that the employee who is mentored and supervised are 20% more productive than the normal workforce. Additionally, networking has also been a successful method. In the organization’s social media intranet and other networking channels help the employee in sharing the knowledge. This promotes a healthy working environment while developing expertise. In some organizations job rotation has been adopted for the overall development of the employee. The workforce is given different job roles that help in obtaining knowledge about various functions of the organizations. 2.3 Theories Explaining Informal learning Manytheorieshavebeendevelopedinrecenttimesincludingsituated,socialand experiential forms of learning. Situated learning is defined as learning from self. In this regard, it can be said, individual as a whole, social communities become the part of the learning process that involves participation in new activities, tasks, understandings that help
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR6 to broaden the learning environment of the individuals.Mattar(2018)discussed situated cognition included the importance of context and interaction process in the construction of knowledge. Aspects like thinking, knowing and learning are situated in physical and social contexts. Thus, knowledge is gained from the situation that arises which are partly supported by the social interaction amongst the individuals. it is also said that that formal education does not provide a solution to problems and crises (LinandLee,2014). It can only learn through the situations. Situated involves concrete learning thus emphasizing the networks of social arrangements and activities that include authentic practice. Thus, knowledge is located in the communities which further deepens the learning process of individuals (Cheand Ibrahim 2018).In this context, we can say the learning process in the organizations depends on the participation of employees in the working curriculum that further develops competency. Social learning involves the knowledge gained from the social interaction amongst the individuals in the community or the workplace. Gaining knowledge itself is a social process. When individuals interact with each other they share information about their experiences in life or work. This helps to gain information that is helpful in future situations. Social learning is often self-driven involving the values like mutual respect and search for truth. It is noted that socializing is an important tool for the well- being of humans while it also fosters learning unconsciously. In the works of Cheand Ibrahim (2018), it was discussed that in the technology-driven world, socialmediatools contributeto the learningprocess of the individual. However, it might be noted that interaction on digital platforms may not tailor the person in the right direction. Experiential learning focuses on the importance of the experiences in the construction of knowledge. Thus, real-life experiences at the workplace and community drive the teaching
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR7 and learning processes. The practical knowledge serves as the central ingredient to the education of the individuals (DelahayeandChoy,2018).Thus, in the educative environment oftheschoolsimulationshouldprovidevaluableexperiencesthatincreasestudent engagement while promoting deeper learning. It can be noted that high expert knowledge can be gained through the everyday experience from work, family, and community. To develop competency domain-specific knowledge that forms the base of the learning experience at work (Chapter 3: Adult Learning). Thus, the knowledge and experience are the learning process that is informal, unstructured and social. 2.4 Individual Characteristics Enabling Informal learning The workplace comprises of the various individual with varied characteristics. It often noted that demographic factor influences the informal learning process in the organizations. Cerasoliet al (2018) statedthat 70 to 90 % of ten organizational learning is an outcome of the informal and learning. The author conducted primary research in which he analyzed the Informal learning behaviors through research questions and outcomes using random- effects meta-analysis (Tannenbaumet al,2010). Thus, it was noticed that personal and situational antecedent factors proved to the positive predictive of informal learning behaviors. In this regard, individual characteristics influence the learning process. For instance, the younger generation of from aged 20 to 35 can capture new learnings easier than the middle- aged humans. In the organizational set- up, the young employee is often energetic to learn new aspects of their job. They socialize to gain expertise in the work. They are open new experiments and thereby enhance their learning. Thus, it is seen that many of the managers at the hierarchy level are young and motivating. Noe,Tews, andMarand(2013)argued that informal learning in recent days is important due to a dynamic and competitive business environment. Thus, the authors examined the
Secure Best Marks with AI Grader
Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR8 informal learning process on the individual’s characteristics through the Big five personality factors,generalizedself-efficacy,andzest.Theresearchwasconductedthroughthe collection of primary data on 180 managers. The participant's managers owned and operated casual theme restaurants and participated in online tests on individual differences and informal learning. The results stated that individual difference has a significant relationship with informal methods of learning. It was noted that when all the individual difference was analyzed generalized zest was the significant analytical of informal learning. Another study byLaiandWu(2011)investigated informal learning involving Taiwanese adults aged 16-97. Theparticipantswereselectedandexaminedconsideringthesocio-demographic characteristics.The research was conducted on 10000 adults of Taiwan and the results showed that informal learning differed among various age groups of the people. The adults in Taiwan preferred informal learning in the workplace through interpersonal communications and sharing of knowledge. 2.5 Workplace Factors Enabling Informal Learning The individual working in the individual often expertise through informal training. Many of the small business units with low capital cannot invest in structured formal education thus adopt informal education for its employees (Skule,2004). In the work ofBillett(2004),was the concept of formal learning was argued. It was said that apart from the schools and structured formal learning. Informal learning from organizations should also be considered. The organizations have a set of rules and norms for their survival in the industry. The individual workers also adopt practices to follow these rules. Thus, the workplace as a learning environment is considered to be complex while putting a question for the learner’s participation in the work activities. Individual engagement is one of the factors for enabling informal learning. Individuals are engaged in work activities that promote learning. Many of the organizations do not practice
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR9 formal education but support the employee in informal learning.Organizations either help the employee either mentorship or through social interactions in the form of training, external duties to different branches and others. These facilities help the employee to grasp the skill much faster than the formal structured classes.Nikolova(2014) discussed that exposure to changes also thrifts informal learning in the workplace. In this case, the firms frequently change their working method, products or technology. This enables the employee to adjust in alignment with the business requirements. However, this method of informal learning some of the employees with high intellect will be able to expertise while others may struggle to learn new methods. It is said that feedback is important for improving the current scenario and move towards the path of growth. Thus, some firm’s feedback from the supervisor is also graded for each task performed. This motivates the workforce as they get the results of their hard work. Coetzer,Kock, andWallo(2017) also said that incentives and rewards are also helpful in fostering informal learning in the workplace. To achieve the incentive, the employee works out different methods for the achievement of the target, thus instead of incentive, learning is fostered. The participation of the employee in the external opportunities of organizations like trade fairs conferences, professional forums dealing with clients and other occupational networks also results in informal learning. Thus, it can be said that in the workplace scenario, the workers are engaged in several environments through which they learn to survive in various situation s. The employee may not acknowledge the conscious learning accompanied by the experience and participation in the workplace activities. 2.6 Benefits of informal learning Conducted secondary research in the learning potential of the workplace which provides solid evidence for the significance of the learning in the workplace scenario. It has been said
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR10 that many years of working individual is spent in the organizational work. Thus, the firm offers several situations or workplace activities that thrift informal learning amongst the employee. Informal learning is beneficial to the organization as well to the employee. The informal learning is self-driven that is what and how to learn depends on the individuals. Thus, without any mental stress or pressure to learn, the individual’s employee can learn the content or the skills according to his/her interest. In other words, the learning is not structured so the employee finds it interesting about new skills and working methods (Galaniset al2016). The informal learning process also helps the employee to broaden the knowledge. In this scenario, if the employee researches themselves, they discover new processes, thoughts, and learnings of the content, subject or work process. It is inexpensive and has a long-lasting impact on the workers. The company does not invest in the formal training session while allows the worker to learn through their job. This saves time and money while the employee also retains the learnings as he has learned by himself. To benefit the employee from participating in the learning process, the workplace is designed in a way that thrifts learning. In such cases, forums, chat desk or face to face interactionsbuildslearningenvironment.Inmanycases,thementorsincreasethe responsibility of the employee while guide and support them to complete the task (Zhanget al2018). Many multinational organizations under the employee's strengths and offer job rotation according to their skill set. This helps the employee in understanding other functions apart from his designated job that further increase his knowledge about the work process. It has been noticed that changing job roles, work performance is boosted as the employee take an interest in learning new paradigms. 2.7 Limitations There are a few limitations to informal learning in organizations. It is mentioned that the organizations should provide time for socialization for thrifting the culture of learning. Since
Paraphrase This Document
Need a fresh take? Get an instant paraphrase of this document with our AI Paraphraser
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR11 employees of various mindsets are present, they might misuse the time for personal use. In the mentorship form of learning, the employee may not abide by the techniques and guidance given. On the other hand, their many employees who are reluctant to share the knowledge thus, they might not help other employees in specializing right skills for the work. The formal training processes are important in the initial days of joining as the company, its norms and working process are new to the employee. In the initial days, informal learning may result in grasping faulty techniques or the wrong information due to which the firm may incur a loss. Additionally, the individual characteristic of each employee is different, thus few may take more time to learn while others may succeed fast. In some cases, employees with a low learning pace may be terminated or acknowledge by the firm for his efforts. In many small organizations, the target is set high and delay in learning processes incurs a loss to the firms. Thus, employers may not acknowledge the efforts of slow learners. This may lead to workplace stress among the employee. Conclusion The formal learning processes involve the time, money and resources of the organization. It becomes difficult for the employee to prepare for the exams, classes to be part of the formal education. On the contrary, informal learning where not given importance earlier. In the development of the world economy, the organization's requirements have become dynamic. Thus, the importance of informal learning has been recognized by many researchers and organizations. Informal learning is unstructured and self-driven. Informal learning depends onsituations,socialinteractions,andexperiencesoftheindividual.Therearemany workplace factors like incentive policy, employee engagement and other factors that thrift informal learning amongst the individual. Informal learning is inexpensive and self- driven thus benefitting organizations. However, there are few limitations which state that some
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR12 individual might take misuse of the time given for socialization and self-learning. Moreover, informal learning is long term, thus, it is favored by many organizations Recommendation The individual in the organizations should be time to learn and expertise grasping the skill set that will benefit the firm in the long run. Many organizations do not favor self-learning as its time consuming as the business suffers. In such a scenario, the employee should be guidanceandtipsthroughself-learningisfostered.Additionally,itissuggestedthat employees should be given external duties for the employee to gain expertise in client handling. The external work of the employee can be tracked and outcomes can be measured. The organizations are suggested to help the employee in acquiring knowledge through informal learning that further raises the performance and profitability of the business unit.
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR13 References Billett, S. (2004). Workplace participatory practices: Conceptualising workplaces as learning environments.Journal of Workplace Learning, 16(6), 312-324. Boileau, T. (2017). Informal Learning.Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology.Retrievedfrom<https://lidtfoundations.pressbooks.com/chapter/informal- learning-by-boileau/> Cerasoli, C. P., Alliger, G. M., Donsbach, J. S., Mathieu, J. E., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Orvis, K. A. (2018). Antecedents and outcomes of informal learning behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business and Psychology, 33(2), 203-230. Chapter 3: Adult Learning; Chapter 4: Individual Differences in Learning; Chapter 13: Workplace Learning. Che, C. W. I. R. B., & Ibrahim, W. (2018). Social Media Tools for Informal Language Learning: A Comprehensive Theoretical Framework.Asian Social Science,14(4).DOI: 10.5539/ass.v14n4p46. Coetzer, A., Kock, H., & Wallo, A. (2017). Distinctive characteristics of small businesses as sites for informal learning.Human Resource Development Review,16(2), 111-134. Delahaye, B. &Choy, S. (2018).Human resource development: Learning for innovation and productivity(5thedition.)Prahran, Victoria, Australia: Mirabel Publishing. Galanis, N., Mayol, E., Alier, M., & García-Peñalvo, F. J. (2016). Supporting, evaluating and validating informal learning. A social approach.Computers in Human Behavior,55, 596- 603.Retrievedfrom <https://upcommons.upc.edu/bitstream/handle/2117/85423/Supporting%2C %20Evaluating%20and%20Validating%20Informal%20Learning%20-%20Reviewed.pdf>
Secure Best Marks with AI Grader
Need help grading? Try our AI Grader for instant feedback on your assignments.
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR14 Lai.J.H, &Wu, L.M. (2011). Adults’ participation in informallearning activities: Key findings from the adult education participation survey in Taiwan.Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 51(3), 409-432 Lin, Y. M., & Lee, P. C. (2014). Informal learning: theory and applied.International Journal ofBusinessandCommerce,3(5),127-134.Retrievedfrom <https://www.ijbcnet.com/3-5/IJBC-14-3517.pdf> Mattar, J. (2018). Constructivism and connectivism in education technology: Active, situated, authentic,experiential,andanchoredlearning.RIED.RevistaIberoamericanade Educación a Distancia,21(2). DX.DOI: 10.59544/ried.21.2.20055. Nikolova, I., Van Ruysseveldt, J., De Witte, H., & Syroit, J. (2014). Work-based learning: Development and validation of a scale measuring the learning potential of the workplace (LPW).Journal of Vocational Behavior,84(1), 1-10. Noe, R. A., Tews, M. J., & Marand, A. D. (2103). Individual differences and informal learning in the workplace.Journal of Vocational Behaviour,83(3), 327-335. Skule, S. (2004). Learning conditions at work: A framework to understand and assess informal learning in the workplace.International Journal of Training and Development, 8(1), 8–17. Tannenbaum, S. I., Beard, R. L., McNall, L. A., & Salas, E. (2010). Informal learning and development in oragnizations. In S. W. J. Kozlowski & E. Salas.Learning, training and development in organizations(pp. 303-331). London: Taylor and Francis. Wielenga-Meijer, E. G. A., Taris, T.W., Kompier, M. A. J., & Wigboldus, D. H. J. (2010). From task characteristics to learning: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51(5), 363-375. Zhang, J., Hu, X., Zhao, J., Liu, C., & Luther, M. (2018). Students’ perspectives on configuration design of universities’ informal learning spaces. InASA 2018: Engaging
INFORMAL LEARNING BEHAVIOUR15 architectural science: meeting the challenges of higher density: Proceedings of the 52th InternationalConferenceoftheArchitecturalScienceAssociation(pp.433-440). ArchitecturalScienceAssociation.Retrievedfrom <>https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eziaku_Rasheed/publication/ 329544715_The_influence_of_demographic_and_locational_factors_on_occupants'_perce ption_scores_for_their_buildings/links/5c4a43a1458515a4c73e8e96/The-influence-of- demographic-and-locational-factors-on-occupants-perception-scores-for-their- buildings.pdf#page=443